Veteran sports writer Jim Utter covers NASCAR for The Charlotte Observer and its racing site, ThatsRacin.com. In this space, Jim writes about all things NASCAR and other forms of racing which may also be relevant ... or not.

Friday, September 14, 2012

The garage area every weekend at NASCAR races is probably the busiest area of the track, particularly when practice sessions are underway and cars are running laps, returning to the garage for adjustments, then heading back out to the track to test them. Friday afternoon, Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. were involved in a NASCAR version of the fender-bender. As Keselowski was leaving the garage area to head to the track a NASCAR official waved at him. Keselowski thought it was a signal to stop, so he did. However, Truex was directly behind him and ran into the rear of Keselowski's No. 2 Dodge. Both cars suffered cosmetic damage and neither team had to move to a backup car. "My bad, totally my fault," said Truex, who like Keselowski, is among the 12 drivers competing in this season's Chase for the Sprint Cup. "I looked up and Keselowski just slammed the brakes on and I just hit him. "You get in a hurry getting out of the garage and it was just hard to see what the (official) was doing." Keselowski's crew chief, Paul Wolfe, said it wasn't a big issue. "It didn't affect us other than losing a few minutes of practice," he said.